The invention provides a belt or and to be worn around the waist of the patient and over the abdomen, the belt being equipped with a pouch for receiving the protruding end of a peritoneal dialysis catheter when the catheter is not in use.
In hemodialysis, the patient's blood is circulated and cleansed outside the body. The blood is withdrawn through a needle inserted in a blood vessel in the patient's arm or leg. The needle is attached by plastic tubing to a hemodialysis machine. The machine pumps the patient's blood out of the body and through a dialyzer containing a synthetic semipermeable membrane. The hemodialysis machine keeps the blood moving through the dialyzer while wastes and fluid are being filtered out. It then returns the cleansed blood to the patient through a second needle in the same blood vessel. Patients who need long term hemodialysis treatment are connected to a dialysis machine for four to six hours at a time, two or three times a week.
In contrast to hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis works inside the body using the body's own peritoneal membrane as the semipermeable barrier through which the blood can be filtered The peritoneal membrane lines the peritoneal or abdominal cavity and covers the organs that fit into it, such as the stomach, liver, spleen and intestines.
During the peritoneal dialysis procedure, a tube called a catheter is inserted through the wall of the abdominal cavity. This provides an opening through which dialysis solution can be instilled into the abdominal cavity. The cavity can then be used as a reservoir for the dialysis solution. Waste products pass from the blood stream, through the peritoneal membrane, and into the dialysis solution. The used dialysis solution is periodically drained from the abdominal cavity and replaced with fresh solution.
It is usual for a patient undergoing peritoneal dialysis for the protruding end of the catheter to dangle loosely from the abdomen when not in use. However, this can cause the catheter to be irritating to the patient, to become tangled in the patient's clothes, and to cause unsightly bulges.
Moreover, there is a danger that the dangling catheter may become caught in furniture or other objects which could result in painful consequences and internal bleeding.
The present invention provides a simple means for receiving and retaining the protruding end of the peritoneal dialysis catheter. As explained briefly above, this means takes the form of a fabric or paper belt or band, which may be disposable, and which is fastened around the abdomen of the wearer. The belt is equipped with an open-ended pouch, into which the dangling end of the catheter may be inserted, and which serves completely to enclose and protect the end of the catheter.